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Supposed fraud of Jens Kotainy not punished with suspension

After the chess player Jens Kotainy was disqualified at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund (Germany) not too long ago, a decision in his case has been made. The player was accused of fraud by usage of his cell phone, but will not be suspended from chess activities in the future.

Suspending Kotainy is not an option as the German Chess Association declared. The authorities stated, that the legal circumstances don’t allow the penalty. In a public statement, the President of the German Chess Association, Herbert Bastian, explained that the case had been investigated carefully with the help of a detailed referee report and files of the prosecuting authorities. The case was now closed and the incident will not result in a suspension.

The very wording of the statement

As the Court of Arbitration of the German Chess Association stated in an earlier case, a suspension is only possible under the condition of signing an individual declaration of submission following the rule set of the German Chess Association which was not conducted by the organizer. As the tournament was carried out privately, an implied submission cannot be assumed. The issue was reported to the FIDE Ethics Commission which will decide about further actions.

To prevent incidents of this nature, the executive board of the German Chess Association recommends all tournament organizers implement simple measures: Firstly, a general prohibition of electronic devices at tournaments as part of the tournament advertisement and secondly, the obligatory signing of a declaration of submission for the GCA’s system of penalties by all participating chess players. A model text will be published on the website of the German Chess Association shortly and stands ready for download.

However, fraud through modern technology will never be foreclosed, but the risk for potential offenders will increase immensely. In the meanwhile, Jens Kotainy withdrew his participation at the upcoming German Rapid Chess Championship in Gladenbach. But the case is not closed yet; The Commission for Competitive Sports will decide over the consequences regarding the cooperation with the German Chess Association, especially whether or not Jens Kotainy remains part of the C–cadre. A final decision will be made within the next weeks.